Family Courts: Fees and Charges

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  when he plans to appoint an independent person to lead the review of the effect of court fees in children protection; and which candidates are being considered for the role;
	(2)  when he expects the review of the effects of court fees on child protection to be completed.

Bridget Prentice: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor (Mr. Straw) has appointed Francis Plowden to lead the review. His report is expected in September 2009.

Big Lottery Fund: Equality

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 25 June 2008,  Official Report, column 331W, on regional planning and development: electronic government, how much the Big Lottery Fund has provided for each regional equality and diversity partnership to date; and for what purposes such funds have been provided.

Barbara Follett: Information from the DCMS Lottery grants database, which is searchable at:
	www.lottery.culture.gov.uk
	uses information supplied by lottery distributing bodies and indicates that a grant of £495,933 was paid by the Big Lottery Fund to Equality South West in November 2007. The purpose of this award was to support the development of the organisation's work in training voluntary and community organisations to ensure that equality and diversity are systemic within their work.

Museums and Galleries

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many educational visits have been made to publicly funded museums in each region in each year since 1997.

Barbara Follett: Figures are not available for all museums. The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council advises that regional figures for museum visits specifically in regard to the Renaissance programme 2002-08 are as follows.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of educational visits to Renaissance hub museums 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 North West 62,175 61,750 68,456 78,669 81,456 71,397 
			 North East 92,033 102,821 115,180 115,053 111,780 125,891 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 110,299 104,318 96,165 96,479 109,792 111,872 
			 West Midlands 116,599 133,618 157,202 157,780 156,132 141,422 
			 East Midlands 114,216 111,278 94,027 89,889 87,691 93,953 
			 East of England 50,310 50,744 56,233 63,814 67,462 81,341 
			 South West 36,976 56,262 62,646 57,133 54,175 59,123 
			 South East 24,650 60,834 105,555 98,743 110,336 115,732 
			 London 69,322 81,181 87,782 78,558 84,905 95,351 
			 Total 676,580 762,806 843,246 836,118 863,729 896,082 
		
	
	Since 2001-02, 18(1) of DCMS's sponsored museums have collected figures measuring the number of children aged 16 and under attending on and off-site organised educational sessions. DCMS cannot disaggregate the data by region, to provide a regional breakdown, because some institutions who have branches across different parts of the country provide a single return for the organisation. The figures are as follows:
	
		
			  Table 2 
			   Number 
			 2001-02 1,705,634 
			 2002-03 2,256,386 
			 2003-04 2,270,448 
			 2004-05 2,785,155 
			 2005-06 2,722,094 
			 2006-07 2,894,499 
			 2007-08 3,525,037 
		
	
	(1) British Museum, Geffrye Museum, Horniman Museum, Imperial War Museum, Museum of London, Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, National Gallery, National Maritime Museum, National Museums Liverpool, National Museum of Science and Industry, National Portrait Gallery, Natural History Museum, Royal Armouries, Sir John Soanes Museum, Tate Gallery, Tyne and Wear Museums Service, Victoria and Albert Museum and Wallace Collection.

Playing Fields: Private Sector

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many playing fields owned by private companies there are; and how many such fields have closed in the last 10 years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 6 March 2009
	Sport England has advised that as of January 2009 Active Places data shows private companies own 391 sites containing 901 (grass) pitches.
	At present, Active Places, which was set up in 2004, does not capture historical data on the number of fields owned by private companies which have closed in the last 10 years.
	Sport England are in the process of collecting further data on public and privately owned facilities, including closures where possible, and hope to conclude that work by the end of 2009.

Tourism

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1556W on Tourism, on which dates the Minister for Tourism met heads of Tourism in the nine regional development agencies in the last 12 months.

Barbara Follett: I met the South West Regional Development Agency Chair on 8 January 2009 and 11 December 2008. A meeting with all the regional development agency tourism leads has been arranged for April 2009.

USA: Military Alliances

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Lewes of 3 November 2008,  Official Report, column 71W, on USA: military alliances, on what date and at which location the next Stocktake meeting between the Government and the US administration under the 1958 Mutual Defence Agreement will take place.

Quentin Davies: Arrangements have not been finalised but it is intended that the next Stocktake meeting will take place in early June in the UK.

Apprentices

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 13 June 2008,  Official Report, column 616W, on apprentices, what progress his Department has made towards meeting its share of the Government's commitment to employ over 1,000 apprentices in central Government departments and agencies in 2008-09; and how many apprentices his Department now employs.

Jonathan R Shaw: In reply to the questions asked, I refer to the Government Skills cross-Government response recorded on 24 February 2009,  Official Report, column 741W.

Clear

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Angus of 27 March 2006,  Official Report, column 740W, on public relations companies, what payments have been made to the communications consultancy, Clear, since March 2006; for what projects; and at what cost.

Jonathan R Shaw: According to our records, no such payments have been made.

Discrimination: Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 27 January 2009,  Official Report, column 436W, on discrimination: disabled, which stakeholders he held meetings with; when each meeting was held; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the minutes of each meeting.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 9 February 2009
	I met with a number of stakeholders at the largest consultation event, which was held in London on 11 December. I provided an introduction to the event and answered questions from the floor.
	My officials held four consultation events, three in London and one in Edinburgh. The London events were held on 4, 11 and 15 December; the Edinburgh event was held on 9 December. Stakeholders were invited to attend and the consultation events were also publicised through the Office for Disability Issues website, the Office for Disability Issues newsletter (which reaches approximately 2,000 people), and via charities who raised the profile of the consultation through their own emails and websites. Following is a list which gives a selection of organisations which attendees came from. Notes were taken at each event and a summary will be included in the Government's response to the consultation, which is currently being prepared. A copy of the response will be placed in the Library on publication.
	Informal meetings between officials and stakeholder groups have also taken place. Those stakeholder organisations with which informal discussions were held included the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Disabilities Charity Consortium (DCC). The DCC is an informal coalition of charities made up of Leonard Cheshire Disability, Mencap, Mind, RNIB, RNID, RADAR, Scope, The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and Sense. Minutes of these meetings were not taken due to their informal nature.
	Alzheimer's Society
	British Dyslexia Association
	Cheshire Constabulary
	Disability Voice Bromley
	Equality 2025
	Equality and Human Rights Commission
	Guide Dogs for the Blind Association
	Hearing Dogs for Deaf People
	Independent
	Leonard Cheshire Disability
	London borough of Ealing
	London borough of Hounslow
	National AIDS Trust
	National Deaf Children's Society
	National Housing Federation
	Public and Commercial Services Union
	RADAR
	Spinal Injuries Association
	Techmobility
	Trade Union Disability Alliance
	UNISON
	Unite The Union
	IDS Employment Law Brief
	Discrimination Law Association
	Russell Jones and Walker
	Wandsworth and Merton Law Centre
	Addleshaw Goddard
	Coventry Law Centre
	The Law Society
	Disability Law Service
	Skill
	One Essex Court Chambers
	Birmingham Law Centre
	London Probation
	KPMG UK LLP
	Goldsmiths, University of London
	Future Inclusion
	National Landlords Association
	Employers' Forum on Disability
	Disability Forward Limited
	CBI

Dentistry: Training

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the efficacy of the requirement on (i) dentists and (ii) other dental care professionals to undertake for continuing professional development; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The General Dental Council (GDC) has introduced a requirement for dentists and dental care professionals to undertake regular continuing professional development (CPD) to maintain their registration. We have not commissioned research in respect of CPD, but we expect the GDC's requirement to develop into a revalidation scheme where by health professionals would be required to keep up to date with advances in medical and dental science. The White Paper Trust Assurance and Safety—The Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century stated:
	"In the traditional system for regulating health professionals, once people had qualified and demonstrated that they were fit to practise with patients, their names were placed on the relevant professional register and remained there unless a definite reason came to light for their removal. Public and professional opinion has moved on in the course of this debate, from a position where trust alone was sufficient guarantee of fitness to practise, to one where that trust needs to be underpinned by objective assurance. Public opinion surveys suggest that people expect health professionals to participate in the revalidation of their registration and that many believe this takes place every year."

Khat

Mohammad Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has  (a) evaluated,  (b) commissioned and  (c) undertaken on the effects on health of the regular use of khat.

Dawn Primarolo: In March 2005 the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) was asked by the then Home Office Minister Caroline Flint to assess the extent of the harm posed by khat use in the United Kingdom, to the individual, their communities and to society as a whole.
	The ACMD reported in January 2006 and continues to monitor the situation in relation to khat through its Technical Committee.

Smoking: Yorkshire and the Humber

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in  (a) Barnsley and  (b) Doncaster have received assistance from the NHS to stop smoking in each of the last five years.

Dawn Primarolo: The information is not available in the format requested. However, data on the number of people setting a quit date and successfully quitting through the National Health Service Stop Smoking Services is available for Barnsley primary care trust (PCT) and Doncaster PCT in 2006-07 and 2007-08 and for Barnsley PCT, Doncaster Central PCT, Doncaster East PCT and Doncaster West PCT for 2004-05 to 2006-07.
	Information for 2007-08 is available from the annual Statistics on "NHS Stop Smoking Services in England, April 2007 to March 2008". This information can be found in table 3.5 on page 28.
	Information for 2006-07 is available for both the old and new strategic health authority (SHA) and PCT from the annual Statistics on "NHS Stop Smoking Services in England, April 2006 to March 2007". This information can be found in table 2.12 (old SHA and PCT configuration) and table 5.4 (new SHA and PCT configuration) on pages 19 and 65 respectively.
	Information for 2005-06 is available for both the old SHA and PCTs from the annual Statistics on "NHS Stop Smoking Services in England, April 2005 to March 2006". This information can be found in table 4.12 on page 38.
	Information for 2004-05 is available for both the old SHA and PCTs from the annual "Statistics on NHS Stop Smoking Services in England, April 2004 to March 2005". This information can be found in table 19 on page 54.
	All of the publications have already been placed in the Library.
	 Notes
	1. The Information Centre for health and social care collects data from the NHS Stop Smoking Services as part of the NHS Stop Smoking Services quarterly monitoring returns forms, undertaken since 2005 on behalf of the Department.
	2. On the basis that the clinical viewpoint tends to be that a client should not be counted as a 'failure' if he/she has smoked in the difficult first days after the quit date, a client is counted as having successfully quit smoking if he/she has not smoked at all since two weeks after the quit date. The four-week follow-up (and Carbon Monoxide (CO) validation, if appropriate) must be completed within six weeks of the quit date. Persons not contacted within this time are treated as lost to follow-up for evaluation purposes.
	3. Only people who set a quit date through the NHS Stop Smoking Services are included in the quarterly monitoring returns, those who attend the service but do not set a quit date are not included.

Anti-Semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2009,  Official Report, column 41W, on anti-Semitism, what steps the Government plans to take to monitor and tackle anti-Semitism overseas; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The recent London Conference on combating anti-Semitism, organised by the Inter-parliamentary Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism and co-hosted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, called for the establishment of an international task-force of internet specialists to measure racism and anti-Semitism online and propose international responses.
	It also called for the exposure and isolation of governments and politicians engaging in hate against Jews, and urged the EU to address the issue of combating anti-Semitism.
	We will work with the Inter-parliamentary Coalition and other partners on follow-up to the London Conference.

Redundancy

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the Answer of 25 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 1208-10W, on redundancy, how many staff left his Department under staff exit schemes with a severance package worth  (a) between £100,000 and £125,000,  (b) between £125,001 and £150,000,  (c) between £150,001 and £200,000,  (d) between £200,001 and £250,000,  (e) between £250,001 and £500,000,  (f) between £500,001 and £1,000,000 and  (g) over £1,000,000 in each year since 2005-06.

Gillian Merron: My answer of 25 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 1208-10W, provided a breakdown of total lifetime costs to the Department of early retirements between April 2005 and March 2009. The figures do not represent the value of sums received by staff, which will be lower.
	The number of early retirement settlements over the past four years broken down into the categories listed above according to lifetime cost to the Department is:
	 (a) 30
	 (b) 23
	 (c) 46
	 (d) 29
	 (e) 63
	 (f) 2
	 (g) 0

UN World Conference against Racism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the withdrawal of governments from the United Nations Durban 2 Conference; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: Canada and Israel have formally withdrawn from the Durban Review Conference. The United States and Italy announced that they would not take part in negotiations on the draft document that was under negotiation, and set conditions for their re-engagement.
	This document has now been superseded by an updated version, which issued on 17 March 2009.
	The Government have expressed a consistent view on the Durban Review Conference. We want the conference to forge a collective will to fight against racism in all its forms, in all parts of the world. It should not be seen as an opportunity to press unrelated political interests and issues.

Parents: Advisory Services

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how the effectiveness of the Parent Know How programme is measured; and what assessment has been made of that effectiveness;
	(2)  how many people have used the Parent Know How programme websites in each quarter since they were established;
	(3)  how many people have used the Parent Know How  (a) instant messaging and  (b) SMS service in each quarter since each was established;
	(4)  how many calls there have been to each Parent Know How helpline in each quarter since their establishment.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: An independent evaluation of the Parent Know How programme was commissioned last year to look at the effectiveness of the telephone helpline and the pilot new services under the programme. The evaluation will support decisions we make about which of the pilot services we will continue to fund beyond June 2009. A full report will be published in the late spring.
	The information requested about how many people have used the Parent Know How website, instant messaging and SMS services, and how many calls there have been to each helpline, in each quarter since the launch of the programme last year are as follows. Information about the quarter January-March 2009 will not be available until late April:
	
		
			  (i) Websites: 
			  Quarter  April-June 2008  July-September 2008  October-December 2008  Total 
			 Services: Got a teenager? thecoupleconnection Contact a Family Dad Talk Dad's Space Dad's Team One Space Netmums Parent Supporters 26,417 80,215 187,146 293,778 
		
	
	
		
			  ( ii) I nstant messaging and SMS services: 
			  Quarter  April-June 2008  July-September 2008  October-December 2008  Total 
			 Instant messaging services(1): Live Talk 0 209 289 498 
			 SMS services: Ask ACE Relate SMS 434 489 724 1,647 
			 1 Service launched in July 2009 
		
	
	
		
			  (iii) Telephone helplines 
			  Calls made to telephone helplines  April-June 2008  July- September 2008  October- December 2008  Total 
			 Advisory Centre for Education 33,395 10,669 14,783 58,847 
			 Children's Legal Centre 4,978 6,752 7,070 18,800 
			 Contact a Family 4,361 6,598 4,575 15,534 
			 Family Rights Group 6,498 5,560 4,211 16,269 
			 Gingerbread 2,544 2,923 2,434 7,901 
			 ParentlinePlus 47,033 40,140 39,266 126,439 
			 YoungMinds 2,501 1,985 2,437 6,923 
			 Total 101,310 74,627 74,776 250,713

Departmental Internet

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn, Hatfield of 10 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1879W, on the departmental internet, how many hits each of the websites maintained by his Department received in each of the last 12 months.

Michael Foster: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Research for  d evelopment (R4D) (http://www.research4development.info) 
			  Month  Page views  Unique visitors 
			 February 2009 41,639 26,608 
			 January 2009 39,772 24,635 
			
			 December 2008 32,646 19,895 
			 November 2008 39,504 26,765 
			 October 2008 34,251 20,586 
			 September 2008 35,525 21,831 
			 August 2008 36,429 20,576 
			 July 2008 42,994 27,453 
			 June 2008 34,934 20,483 
			 May 2008 29,323 15,670 
			 April 2008 28,008 16,315 
			 March 2008 26,648 15,823 
		
	
	
		
			  Developments (http://www.developments.org.uk) 
			  Month  Page views  Unique visitors 
			 February 2009 23,841 10,546 
			 January 2009 23,393 10,225 
			
			 December 2008 17,014 7,429 
			 November 2008 25,358 10,405 
			 October 2008 31,224 11,410 
			 September 2008 21,447 8,256 
			 August 2008 19,678 6,684 
			 July 2008 27,959 7,483 
			 June 2008 18,535 7,387 
			 May 2008 21,301 8,483 
			 April 2008 28,687 9,646 
			 March 2008 34,814 4,771

Departmental Manpower

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2009,  Official Report, column 17W, on departmental personnel, whether his Department's director of human resources is an employee of his Department; and what the  (a) salary and  (b) other employment costs of the director of human resources are.

Ivan Lewis: The current Human Resources Director is a full-time employee of the Department for International Development (DFID). He receives a salary within the range prescribed by the Cabinet Office (£81,600 pa to £160,000 pa) for staff filling posts at director level.

Departmental Manpower

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2009,  Official Report, column 17W, on departmental personnel, for what reason his Department hired an interim human resources manager from 7 April to 31 October 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The appointment of an Interim HR Manager, using a professional agency, meant that the appointment could be made at very short notice. It provided professional leadership during a period of restructuring, and also allowed the Department time to make a permanent appointment through a high quality search and selection process.

Departmental Manpower

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2009,  Official Report, column 17W, on departmental personnel, what the career background and experience of the interim human resources manager hired from 7 April to 31 October 2008 was; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The interim human resources (HR) manager had extensive professional experience in a range of senior positions in private sector organisations, including financial services, retail and pharmaceutical companies.

Departmental Manpower

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the  (a) dates of employment,  (b) salary,  (c) other costs of employment,  (d) job description and  (e) work outputs of the Business Analyst 2007 funded by his Department via Allergis Group Ltd. in August 2007 were.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) contracted Allegis to provide an interim Business Analyst from 13 August 2007 to 30 September 2008.
	DFID cannot comment on salary costs as the Business Analyst was not an employee. The initial contract value was £46,750. A further extension took the total value to £105,226 inclusive of management service fees. There were no other costs of employment payable under this contract.
	The Terms of Reference for this engagement included business analysis, benefits realisation, information needs analysis, business process definition, requirements capture and promotion of industry best practice.
	The Business Analyst produced a range of outputs which included Requirements documentation, Use Case and Workflow Diagrams, Test Scripts and associated project management documentation.

Departmental Pay

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2009,  Official Report, column 17W, on departmental personnel, how many of his Department's staff received remuneration, including bonuses, of more than £100,000 in 2007-08.

Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development paid nine members of staff more than £100,000 (including non-consolidated performance pay) in 2007-08.

Departmental Recruitment

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1879W, on departmental recruitment, what estimate he has made of the annual salary cost of  (a) permanent,  (b) temporary and  (c) agency staff recruited by his Department in each year since 2005-06.

Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not maintain central records of estimates made in respect of salary costs for newly recruited staff.
	Each director within DFID has delegated authority to manage their staff resources, together with any associated pay and related costs.
	Prior to the recruitment of any new member of staff (permanent, temporary or agency), the director is required to make an assessment of the cost of the appointment and to confirm they have sufficient funds available within their divisional budget.

Public Opinion

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mike Penning) of 10 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 328-32W, on public opinion, if he will place in the Library a copy of each document held by his Department relating to each of the opinion polls and focus groups listed in the answer.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) will place copies of those documents which are on record relating to the focus groups and opinion polls detailed in the answer to the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead of 10 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 328-32W, in the Library of the House.
	Much of the material requested is already available on the DFID website at:
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/aboutdfid/intheuk/opinion.asp

Borders: Personal Records

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 27 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 279-80W, on borders: personal records, if he will place in the Library copies of the minutes of the Facilitation Stakeholders Forum of meetings at which  (a) the e-Borders programme and  (b) the Authority Carry Scheme were discussed.

Jim Fitzpatrick: It is not the normal practice of the Government to release details of meetings with private individuals or companies.

Cycling: Helmets

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2009,  Official Report, columns 9-10W, on cycling: helmets, if he will publish an interim report on the merits of wearing a cycle helmet before the end of 2009.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The research project on cycling and safety is under way and is likely to be three years in duration, but as part of the initial phase of the work we are aiming to complete and publish the review of cycle helmet effectiveness by late 2009.

Heathrow Airport

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening) of 4 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1608W, on Heathrow airport, how many individual pieces of correspondence intended for the Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport consultation were received from members of the public resident in Maidenhead constituency.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The information is not available in the format requested. The "Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport: Report on Consultation Responses" provides a breakdown of responses from members of the public only in terms of London residents inside or outside the 57dBA noise contour and UK residents outside London.

Lorries: Testing

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials have had with the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency on changes to mechanisms and fees for goods vehicle testing.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 19 March 2009
	The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) is responsible for setting and administering testing fees for goods vehicles and their operators.
	Since VOSA is established as a Trading Fund it is required to set fees each year at a level to meet their outgoings. On the 6 November 2008, following discussion with Department of Transport officials and myself, VOSA issued a public consultation on changes to the level and structure of its fees for the testing of goods vehicles and operators, to come into effect in April of this year.
	Discussions with the agency included analysis to ensure that:
	the proposed fees have been calculated in line with Government guidance on the setting of statutory fees;
	there was sound and appropriate assumptions upon which the agency's financial forecasts are based; and
	the proposals provide sufficient revenues to support the policies and objectives of the Department.
	Following closure of the public consultation on 29 January 2009, the agency has undertaken analyses of the responses from the consultation. The agency has since held further discussion with Department officials to consider its recommendations on fees in light of responses to the consultation and of direct discussion between representatives of trade associations and Department officials.
	The agency's final recommendations will be the subject of discussion with me in the next few weeks so that changes to fees can be implemented in April.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 12 December 2008 transferred to him from the Prime Minister on the Renewable Energy Strategy.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 9 February 2009
	I responded to the hon. Member on 30 January.

Motor Vehicles: Industry

Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the cost to the public purse was of the motor industry summit held on 28 January 2009.

Ian Pearson: The meeting took place in the BERR Conference Centre and light refreshments were provided. The hard charged (internal cost) room rate was £110 and the catering cost £28.75. This does not include the costs for the time of those who attended the summit.

Union Modernisation Fund

Francis Maude: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 4 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1700W, on the union modernisation fund, if he will ask his Department's Accounting Officer to assess the appropriateness of the practice of the Supervisory Board of not keeping formal records of its decisions.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 12 March 2009
	The functions and remit of the board, which was established following a public consultation, includes:
	"The board will be advised and supported by BERR officials. Subject to this the board is responsible for determining its own procedures, including protocol in cases of possible conflicts of interest."

Union Modernisation Fund

Francis Maude: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 4 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1700W, on the union modernisation fund, how decisions of the Supervisory Board are  (a) recorded and  (b) communicated to Ministers.

Patrick McFadden: Action records are kept of the decisions taken and these are communicated to Ministers by the secretariat.

Union Modernisation Fund

Francis Maude: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 4 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1700W, on the union modernisation fund, if he will make it his Department's policy to require the Supervisory Board to produce formal minutes in line with the guidance documents of  (a) the Records Management Code and  (b) Managing Private Office Records.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 12 March 2009
	The UMF Supervisory Board's remit was set following a consultation. Part of its remit is to:
	"The board will be advised and supported by BERR officials. Subject to this the board is responsible for determining its own procedures, including protocol in cases of possible conflicts of interest".

Housing: Low Incomes

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what representations she has received on  (a) the Homes and Communities Agency's £93 million affordable housing programme for London and  (b) the London and Quadrant Up2You portfolio;
	(2)  whether she received an invitation to attend the launch of the £135 million funding package for affordable housing in London on 3 March 2009.

Iain Wright: My officials first received information relating to the Mayor's announcement from the Homes and Communities Agency during the week commencing Monday 23 February 2009. My office received a telephone call of invitation to attend after ordinary working hours on Friday 27 February. No detailed information on the event could be obtained then or subsequently. I later received a letter from the Mayor of London regarding these proposals i.e. on Wednesday 4 March.

Infrastructure Planning Commission

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what the  (a) salaries,  (b) pension package and  (c) other benefits in kind will be of the Infrastructure Planning Commission's (i) Chairman, (ii) Chief Executive, (iii) board members and (iv) commissioners;
	(2)  which recruitment consultants have been employed to fill Infrastructure Planning Commission positions; and at what cost;
	(3)  what notice periods are specified in the contracts for the Infrastructure Planning Commission  (a) Chairman,  (b) Chief Executive,  (c) board members and  (d) commissioners;
	(4)  how much has been spent on recruitment for members of the Infrastructure Planning Commission; and how much has been allocated in total for such expenditure.

Margaret Beckett: For the remuneration package of the Chair, Deputy Chairs and Commissioners I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State (Mr. Wright) to the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne (Julia Goldsworthy) on 17 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1108W. None of the posts are pensionable. There are no other benefits in kind.
	The post of Chief Executive has been advertised recently as a full time post offering a salary in the range £120,000 to £160,000 per annum. The appointment will be pensionable. The structure of the IPC Board will be determined by the Chair when his appointment commences on 1 May.
	A notice period of three months has been specified in the contract agreed with the Chair. The notice to be given by the CEO, Commissioners and board members will be determined when the individuals are identified following the recruitment exercises.
	Veredus were appointed as the recruitment consultants following a competitive tendering process to recruit the Chair, Chief Executive as well as two Deputy Chairs and three Commissioners. The contact cost is £130,630 which is the total amount allocated for recruitment of Commission members. To date £22,466.25 has been paid. It is expected that a further recruitment exercise for Commissioners will be run during 2009. No funds have been allocated at present.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire, dated 29 January 2009, transferred from the Department for Communities and Local Government on 9 February 2009, on business diversification grants.

Angela Eagle: The correspondence was transferred from the Department for Communities and Local Government to the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, not HM Treasury.

Members: Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford of 6 January 2009 (Treasury reference: 04014/2009) concerning a constituent, Mr Laurence Kyan of Chelmsford.

Ian Pearson: Due to the large volume of correspondence received on these issues there has been a delay in sending some responses. The Financial Services Secretary hopes to be in a position to reply to the hon. Member shortly.

Taxation: Self-assessment

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many people with a BT postcode missed the 31 January deadline for filing their tax returns in each of the last three years; and how much HM Revenue and Customs received in penalties from such persons in each such year;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to reduce the numbers of people who do not meet the annual deadline for filing their tax returns.

Angela Eagle: 28,323 people with a BT postcode missed the 31 January 2009 deadline for filing 2007-08 self assessment tax returns. I would refer to the answer given on 20 May 2008,  Official Report, column 209W, which provided figures for 2006-07. The detail for 2005-06 is not known.
	HMRC does not hold information on how much was received in penalties from such persons in each year.
	The filing deadline is prominently displayed on the tax returns and notices to file, and HMRC issue reminders in advance of the deadline. In addition, HMRC ran a comprehensive publicity campaign to inform both customers and agents of the change in filing dates for the 2007-08 tax return—to 31 October for paper returns and 31 January for returns filed online. This included TV, radio and press advertising, posters and billboards, and online advertising. There was also extensive media coverage.